Long-term daily sun exposure (such as the sun exposure received by people who work outside)

Symptoms

Basal cell cancer grows slowly and is usually painless. It may not look that different from your normal skin. You may have a skin bump or growth that is:

Pearly or waxy

White or light pink

Flesh-colored or brown

In some cases, the skin is just slightly raised or even flat.

You may have:

A skin sore that bleeds easily

A sore that does not heal

Oozing or crusting spots in a sore

A scar-like sore without having injured the area

Irregular blood vessels in or around the spot

A sore with a depressed (sunken) area in the middle

Exams and Tests

Your doctor will check your skin and look at the size, shape, color, and texture of any suspicious areas.

If your doctor thinks you might have skin cancer, a piece of skin will be removed. This is called a skin biopsy
. The sample is sent to a lab for examination under a microscope.

A skin biopsy must be done to confirm basal cell skin cancer or other skin cancers.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the size, depth, and location of the skin cancer, and your overall health.

Treatment may involve any of the following:

Excision: Cutting out the skin cancer and stitching the skin together

Curettage and electrodessication: Scraping away cancer cells and using electricity to kill any that remain; used to treat cancers that are not large or deep

Cryosurgery: Freezing the cancer cells, which kills them; used to treat cancers that are not large or deep

Medication: Skin creams that have medicine; used to treat cancers that are not large or deep

Mohs surgery: Removing a layer of skin and looking at it immediately under a microscope, then removing layers of skin until there are no signs of the cancer; usually used for skin cancers on the nose, ears, and other areas of the face

Photodynamic therapy: Treatment using light; used to treat cancers that are not large or deep

Radiation: May be used if a basal cell cancer cannot be treated with surgery

Chemotherapy
: May be used to treat basal cell cancer that has spread to other parts of the body or that cannot be treated with surgery

Outlook (Prognosis)

Most of these cancers are cured when treated early. Some basal cell cancers return. Smaller ones are less likely to come back. Basal cell carcinoma almost never spreads to other parts of the body.

Possible Complications

Basal cell skin cancer almost never spreads. But, left untreated, it may grow (spread) into surrounding areas and nearby tissues and bone.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if if you have a sore or spot on your skin that changes in:

Appearance

Color

Size

Texture

Also call if a spot becomes painful or swollen or if it starts to bleed or itch.

Prevention

The American Cancer Society recommends that a health care provider examine your skin every year if you are older than 40 and every 3 years if you are 20 to 40 years old. You should also examine your own skin once a month.

The best way to prevent skin cancer is to reduce your exposure to sunlight. Always use sunscreen and learn how to protect yourself from the sun
.

For help in finding a doctor or health service that suits your needs, call the UPMC Referral Service at 412-647-UPMC (8762) or 1-800-533-UPMC (8762). Select option 1.

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